European indies: Europa Simulazioni

Europe can be surprising, particularly in such times troubled by the GFC, and you can see cute, lean and smart game studios popping up from the most unexpected places … like Piacenza, a medium sized city in Northern Italy! That’s where “Europa Simulazioni” was born in 2006, a small company devoted to publish simulation boardgames in unusual historical periods. And their logo is a vibrant reminder of their city’s coat of arms 🙂

The first of them was All is lost save Honour, Campaigns of the Italian Wars in the north of Italy between 1509 and 1525 (from Agnadello to Pavia). Then  they have released Guelphs and Ghibellines in 2009, a nice simulation of the traditional clashes between 13th century armies (3 battles covered). And in 2011 they came with Strafexpedition, a title covering the Italian Wars during WWI in 1916, using battalion level units, and coming with a brand-new impulse system, which allows a remarkable level of interaction between the two players.

They are now preparing an opus on the First War of Independence: “Custoza, Fields of Doom“. In July 1848, the battle between the Piedmomtese Army under King Carlo Alberto and the Austro-Hungarian Army under Field Marshall Radetzky signed the turning point of the First Independence War, and the defeat of the Piedmontese dream of an Italian Crusade against Austro-Hungary.

Good luck to our Italian fellows, keep up the good job!
To Know More: http://italianwars.net

 

Empire Total War for Mac is here!

Rise and shine my dear Mac lovers and aficionados of the Total War series! After months of waiting, news have leaked and according to several blogs, including Inside Mac Games, Feral Interactive will finally ship Empire Total Ear for Mac on 13/09/2012, literally just days away now! Free up some gigabytes, and don’t run out of coffee, nights will be long.

Video Trailer

Screenshots

 

 

The Battle of Mollwitz, 1741

The Battle of Mollwitz was fought by Prussia and Austria on April 10, 1741, during the early stages of the War of the Austrian Succession. It was the first battle of the new Prussian King Frederick II, in which both sides made numerous military blunders but Frederick the Great still managed to attain victory. This battle cemented his authority over the newly conquered territory of Silesia and gave him valuable military experience.

More on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mollwitz

The Boardgaming Life Blog has recently reviewed a very simple war-game for beginners set around this battle, and despite poor graphics it’s worth having a look to get a sense of how to initiate beginners to wargames. The game can be downloaded as a free PDF here.

A very nice exercise from the Author, Chris Salander, inspired from a card game on the Battle of Hohenfriedberg. I found the original and very ugly graphics, as well as a nicer variant on the Cartographers Guild site. A very good example on how the game experience can be dramatically enhanced with just the right visual assets.